Illegal operators generate up to €1.5b in France

Added: December 5, 2023

A new report commissioned by the ANJ has revealed that unauthorized gambling companies generate an estimated revenue of up to 1.5 billion euros each year.

The estimated revenue range found by the study is between 750 million euros and 1.5 billion euros, which represents the revenue of between 5% and 11% of the country’s entire gambling sector. The report was carried out on behalf of the ANJ by PwC International, which assessed the French gambling market in the period between January and March this year and involved over 11 thousand local gambling enthusiasts.

The study found that half of all the traffic of illegal operators originated from their gambling experiences, which included traditional slots and table games. The report highlighted that half of all identified illegal companies operating in the country were headquartered in Curacao. These companies operate a combined more than 500 unauthorized gambling websites in France, 21 of which were identified to be responsible for more than 60% of the country’s entire unauthorized gambling supply.

The report then highlighted some of the impacts of illegal gambling in the country, with almost 80% of the unauthorized sector’s revenue stemming from risky gambling behaviors. The study also mentioned that this year, approximately 3 million French players have gambled on an illegal website on a monthly basis, with half of them reportedly not being aware of the legal status of the websites they enjoyed the pastime on. The gamblers who knew about the illegality of the websites in question mentioned higher winning expectations and the lack of identity verification procedures among the reasons why they chose the unregulated market.

ANJ, France